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I climbed 311 steps and all I got was...

Last Friday was my "explore something new" day. And I'm ashamed to admit that after almost two decades in London, prior to Friday, I had never climbed the 311 steps to the top of Sir Christopher Wren's Monument on Fish Street Hill. Off to Fish Street Hill I went then.

Built in the 1670s to commemorate the Great Fire of London, the structure offers great, if a bit restricted (by the metal safety nets), views of London and is accessible via a narrow spiral staircase - a perfect photo op for postcard and calendar makers the world over, I guess.

My ambitious plan to take images of the city from unusual angles was thwarted by two things though: the aforementioned safety net and the ferocious winds.

Still, the frostbite was a small price to pay for the confirmation that - even from this vantage point - the Gherkin, until recently one of the most dominant buildings on the City skyline, is hardly visible.

So instead of taking pictures outside, I ended up (having cranked up my ISO to 4000) photographing the over-photographed staircase instead.

Who knows, I might produce a calendar for spiral staircase fetishists some time soon.